Bio-Medical Engineering (HK) Limited, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Department of Surgery, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
J Dig Dis. 2019 Apr;20(4):196-205. doi: 10.1111/1751-2980.12718.
Advances in the field of robotics have allowed modern technology to be integrated into medicine and that can minimize patients suffering from the side effects that are inherent to procedures for improving their quality of life. Conventional devices that are used for colonoscopies are rigid and require a high level of expertise from endoscopists to perform the procedure. Advances in robot-assisted colonoscopic systems now produce softer, more slender, automated designs that no longer require the operator to use forceful pushing to advance the colonoscope inside the colon, reducing risks to the patient of perforation and pain. It is challenging to reprocess these scopes for reuse as the materials used can be damaged during decontamination, leading to the possible risks of cross-infection by pathogenic microorganisms when reused by patients. An ideal solution is to eliminate these contamination risks to patients by adopting sterile, single-use scopes straight from the manufacturer's package to the patient. With this idea in mind, emerging developments that push the boundaries in this area will benefit patients and encourage the public to participate in and adhere better to colonoscopy screening to reduce the development of colorectal cancer. Thus, in light of these concerns and challenges, to encourage patients undergoing colorectal screening to comply with colonoscopy procedures that they are less invasive, changes in the design and materials are necessary. One of the more promising technological advances in this area is the advent of robotic colonoscopy.
机器人技术领域的进步使得现代技术能够融入医学领域，从而最大限度地减少患者因改善生活质量的程序而产生的副作用。传统的结肠镜检查设备是刚性的，需要内窥镜专家具备高水平的专业知识才能进行操作。现在，机器人辅助结肠镜系统的进步带来了更柔软、更纤细、自动化的设计，不再需要操作人员用力推动结肠镜进入结肠，从而降低了患者穿孔和疼痛的风险。由于在消毒过程中可能会损坏使用的材料，因此重新处理这些器械以重复使用具有挑战性，这可能会导致患者在再次使用时发生致病性微生物的交叉感染的风险。一个理想的解决方案是通过采用从制造商包装直接到患者的无菌、一次性使用的器械，消除这些对患者的污染风险。考虑到这些担忧和挑战，为了鼓励接受结直肠癌筛查的患者接受侵入性更小的结肠镜检查程序，需要对设计和材料进行改进。在这一领域，最有前途的技术进步之一是出现了机器人结肠镜检查。
